Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Real-time Imaging of Axonal Transport of Quantum Dot-labeled BDNF in Primary Neurons
Published on: September 15, 2014
Biological homing: hypothesis for a quantum effect that leads to the existence of life
1Department of Emergency Medicine, East Carolina University School of Medicine, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. meggs@brody.med.ecu.edu
Abstract:
In biological systems, complex molecules interact with specificity and rapidity. The hypothesis is advanced that there are complementary sites on the surfaces of pairs of biological molecules with an enhanced attraction due to quantum mechanics. I postulate that a biological homing effect arises from the quantum mechanical probability that complementary pairs of molecules will join, and that this phenomenon is the force that drives biology and gives rise to the existence of life. To illustrate the approach, a simplified calculation is given for the interaction cross-section between two molecules, each with N surface charges that have an identical spatial distribution but with paired charges having opposite signs. The resulting cross-section is enhanced by a factor of N2 over the coulomb-scattering cross-section for a single pair of charges. We hypothesize that the existence of life is a direct and inevitable consequence of the principles presented here.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Signaling
Conditions on Early Earth
The Evidence for Evolution
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration
Chemotaxis in E. coli
Origin of Cellular Life

